Horace Mann has long been one of New York City’s most prestigious prep schools, counting luminaries such as noted Covidiot Alex Berenson and noted philanderer Eliot Spitzer among its alumni. Now, in response to the recent reports that Attorney General William Barr ordered the National Guard to attack protesters outside of the White House, members of the Horace Mann community are calling on the school’s alumni board to remove Barr from the distinguished-alumni list.
“Barr directly ordered the violent removal of protesters for the president’s political gain,” says a petition started by two recent graduates from the Class of 2020, “and this was a callous and despicable act demonstrating a clear disregard for our democratic values of free speech and racial justice.”
Horace Mann, which has an annual tuition of over $50,000, has stayed mum on the topic. Still, the school’s alumni council issued a nothing-burger of a statement: “We have heard concerns expressed by current students, alumni and school employees … We are convening our council to canvass the views of our alumni constituencies and to review in a deliberate manner the range of perspectives that are being communicated to us in connection with the award. We intend to consider the issues thoroughly and sensitively.”
Even beyond the Barr hubbub, Horace Mann is no stranger to controversy. Namely, the school has a decades-long history of masking sexual abuse and covering up for predatory teachers, as reported by The Atlantic. If you’re trying to navigate the cut-throat world of elite New York private schools (known as the Ivy Preparatory League, because of course it is), maybe send your kid to Riverdale or Dalton or Trinity instead — actually, maybe not Dalton.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
